‘Full Metal Jacket’ drill instructor apologizes for calling on Americans to ‘rise up’ against Obama

By Stephen C. Webster The foul-mouthed, hard-nosed drill instructor made famous by Stanley Kubrick's classic war film "Full Metal Jacket" ruffled some feathers early last month for commenting at a charity event that President Barack Obama wants "to bring this country to its knees" and institute "socialism."

His proposed solution: "Rise up" and "stop this administration" from "destroying this country."

Now, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman -- the character which has carried the career of R. Lee Ermey -- is doing the unthinkable: apologizing.

"I regret that I delivered a monologue that was inappropriately critical of the President," he wrote on a special message posted to his official website. "I was trying to be entertaining and simply went too far in this instance."

Ermey, who was in recent years a spokesman for the Geico insurance company, made his initial remarks on Dec. 10 at a special appearance on "Roe & Roeper's Miracle on Indianapolis Blvd. Holiday Extravaganza," promoting "Toys 4 Tots" in Chicago.

"Oorah! Can anybody hear me out there?" he began. "I would like to salute the United States Marine Corps. Since 1775 they have been defending this country and doing quite a nice job of it, I might add. We celebrated our 235th birthday last month... 235 years of protecting this nation and we're gonna continue to do it forever."

Ermey continued: "I gotta tell you folks, we're having a big problem this year. The economy really sucks. Now I hate to point fingers at anybody, but the present administration probably had a lot to do with that. And the way I see it, they're not gonna quit doing it until they bring their country to its knees -- so I think we should all rise up and we should stop this administration from what they're doing because they're destroying this country.

"They're driving us into bankruptcy so they can impose socialism on us, and that's exactly what they're doing. I'm sick-and-damn-tired of it and I know you are too. But I know the Marine Corps is gonna be here forever. This administration won't. Semper fi. God bless you all."

As Ermey walked off stage, one of the event's hosts laughed and commented, "I'm so glad he has an opinion about things."

"How do you really feel, Lee?" another asked.

"I'd been waitin' for the Glenn Beck" to "come on Fox," he said. "I need to have that."

Less than a month on, Ermey was walking the comments back.

"I am mindful that my success as an entertainer relates in part to my experience in the Marine Corps, my devotion to its members, and the deep respect I have for members of all our Armed Forces," he wrote on Jan. 3. "My comments should not be seen as reflecting on them or their views. I was just very disappointed in the amount of success that we were having raising toys and money for the underprivileged children this season. The poor economy has greatly hampered our efforts. My comments were misguided, and emotionally based, and for that I am truly sorry."

A recent study by the University of Maryland found that extended exposure to Fox News makes voters more likely to believe patent falsehoods about American society and the actions of the administration.

The poll's findings seem to sync with those of an NBC News survey (PDF) taken during the height of America's health care reform debate, where Fox News viewers were found to be most likely to believe wildly inaccurate interpretations of the legislation.

The Republican television channel's most-watched opinion host, conspiracy theorist Glenn Beck, often makes up outrageous falsehoods to scare viewers into supporting Republican causes.

The network has big plans to expand its brand into the future: According to anchor Chris Wallace, the 2012 Republican presidential primary elections will be "a production of Fox News," not unlike the Fox network's American Idol. Virtually all the leading GOP candidates are paid contributors for the network, and over 30 Fox News personalities have endorsed Republicans in the past.

The Obama administration, similarly, has called Fox News "a wing of the Republican party."

M.C.L Comment: Hold up here, Geico fires one spokesperson for calling out the tea party but no action for another when he calls for an overthrow of the government.. Let me repeat that again GEICO fired one spokesperson for calling racists, racist and they're standing behind another who told people to overthrow the government.

Bullied’ Geico fires actor who insulted tea partiers

By Daniel Tencer

That assertive voice at the end of those "Geico gecko" ads which tells you that "15 minutes can save you 15 percent or more on car insurance" may soon sound a little different.

That's because car insurer Geico has fired the ads' voice-over actor after he left a sarcastic and critical message on the phone lines of FreedomWorks, one of the more prominent Tea Party organizations.

In a press release Wednesday, actor Lance Baxter -- who goes by the stage name D.C. Douglas and doesn't do the voice of the iconic "Geico gecko" -- said he had been the target of a pressure campaign by FreedomWorks and that the group had effectively "bullied" the car insurer into firing him.

A day after FreedomWorks head Matt Kibbe wrote a column for BigGovernment.com in which he gave out Baxter's phone number and urged followers to call the actor, "Geico held auditions to replace Mr. Douglas' voice on the campaign," the press release asserted.

"Feel free to contact Lance," Kibbe's blog posting stated. "He was so kind to provide his number in the voicemail. Call his employer too."

In the phone message to FreedomWorks, which Baxter says he left March 23, Baxter says: "Hi there, I'm doing a paper about FreedomWorks ... and I just have one more piece of information I need to get from you guys. I just need to know what the percentage is of people that are mentally retarded who work for the organization and are members of it."

Before hanging up, he adds: "I'm wondering what your plans are-- how to spin it when one of your members does actually kill somebody. Wondering if you've got a PR spinning routine planned for that, or are you just going to take it when it happens."

(Raw Story has chosen not to link to the audio of the message because it contains Baxter's phone number.)

Baxter says that, while he doesn't blame Geico for getting rid of him following the controversy, he does object to what he sees as people being harassed and losing their jobs for their political opinions.

"We can't let these kinds of tactics become the norm in our country. If we do, then anybody can lose their job just for voicing an opinion," he said in his statement, adding that he is seeking lawyers to represent him in the matter "pro bono."

Baxter speculated that Geico was quick to sever its relationship with him because the company is "already on FreedomWorks' boycott list for pulling their ads from Glenn Beck's show."

On his blog, Baxter writes that he was "inundated with calls and hang-ups" after Kibbe wrote about him, "but they died after a day."

He continued, "Geico made a quick corporate decision to drop me from the campaign ten hours after Matt Kibbe’s blog post appeared. Obviously not because of the magnitude of Matt Kibbe’s self-serving revenge campaign, as it was just a tempest in a teapot (pun intended), but because of the fear that has become synonymous with the Tea Bagger Party: The potential for the wackos of the party to get very loud and dangerous."

Kibbe's response to Baxter's firing, in a BigGovernment article Wednesday, was subdued and barely addressed the controversy.

"Americans covet our freedom of speech," he wrote. "We have a sacred right, enshrined in the Constitution, to show up, protest and challenge government policies that are bad for America. Freedom: it’s an insurance policy we should all buy."

M.C.L comment: Here comes another segment of what grinds Johnny C's gears, those in the right wing/conservative movement are the thinnest skin bunch of bullies that crawl out of the septic tank.These losers can say anything they want, called anyone out their name and incite violence yet if there's a pushed back from someone their first response is either whine loud and long enough until that person lose their job or get their brain dead followers to harass that person until that person back tracks because they're worried about their safety because those loons do become violent.

Take out the part where Baxter calls them mentally retarded because it's offensive to link people who actually are mentally handicap with these freaks and klans folks that make up the tea party movement. He did ask a legitimate question what would be the spin that "Freedom Works" come up with if one of their sheep take the right wing rhetoric to the next level and actually harms someone?

Would "Freedom Works" take responsibility or will they do what Glenn Beck does when one of his fanboys kills someone throw them under the bus and tell people violence is wrong then go back inciting people to act in a violent manner?